Elemental Power Part 2
by RaceProUK
Summary: (Part 2 of 5) Hanna's newest acquisition troubles Rob, and it's putting a strain on their relationship. Can they work through the issues? And will Rob make an acquisition of his own?
1. Chapter 1

It had been a week since Hanna had obtained the strange red crystal that imbued her with pyrokinesis, but Rob was still troubled by the whole affair. He had tried on several occasions to make Hanna understand his apprehension, and to maybe store the crystal in a safe place instead of persisting in wearing it woven into the double-baldric. But she didn't accept that the crystal was any sort of risk to her. Rob had even thought about stealing the crystal and either selling it, or simply disposing of it where it'd never be found, but he could never bring himself to do that. Not to the woman he loves.

Rob thinks back to the first 'transformation'; a chill runs down his spine. The flaming aura he could deal with. Even the voice change didn't faze him much. It was the eyes. Seeing her beautiful cyan eyes go black as coal. But even that wasn't the worst aspect.

The worst aspect is that Hanna accepts it as normal. Almost as if it's always been a part of her.

Maybe it has. Maybe the crystal is the key to unlocking those abilities. Rob couldn't dismiss the idea completely, but he still couldn't rationalise it. It's not that he dismisses magic as ridiculous; his home city of Shang Tu has always been a mystical and spiritual place, and it leaves an indelible mark on all its natives. But the reason for his leaving Shang Tu originally was to get away from what he felt was the overbearing focus on the mystic arts, often at the neglect of logic and reason.

And yet, Rob has returned to Shang Tu; specifically to the old Kingdom Stone temple. His intention was to find solace, to be alone with his thoughts. Since the Stone's transformation into a swirling skyborne vortex, the old temple had seen a dramatic drop in attendance. The previously omnipresent security force was conspicuous by its absence; with nothing to guard, there was no longer the need for a security force, and its members had been reposted to assist hunting down and destroying the remnants of Brevon's army.

The solitude wasn't working though. If anything, it was making him feel worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Back in Rage Ravine; the sun had set some time before. Rob approaches the front door, knowing that Hanna would be waiting for him to return. He had promised to be back much earlier; maybe Hanna has fallen asleep, and he can sneak in. As he reaches for the doorknob, the door flies open to reveal a very angry fox; Rob braces himself.

"Where on Avalice have you been?" Hanna demands.

"Sorry," mutters Rob apologetically. "I guess I lost track of time."

"For the whole evening?"

"I guess..."

Hanna closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. As she exhales, she relaxes; her eyes open with a much softer look.

"Just... get in here," she breathes, backing away to allow Rob to enter; he does so warily. "Don't worry, I'm calm now."

"It's not you I'm wary of."

Hanna looks down at her torso, the double-baldric crossing from shoulders to hip. "Oh..." she realises; she removes the double-baldric and puts it back on backwards, so the crystal lies between her shoulder blades. "That better?"

"A little," Rob admits, settling on the sofa.

Hanna sighs heavily. "You need to stop worrying about it. I'm in control."

"For both our sakes, I hope you're right."

Hanna unsuccessfully suppresses an amused yet nervous smile as she joins Rob on the sofa. "I hate how things have been weird between us recently."

"I can't help it."

"I know."

An awkward silence descends; Hanna stares at her feet.

"You're not thinking of..." Hanna starts to ask.

"Of what?"

"Of..." Hanna's voice sounds fragile; her eyes begin to water.

Rob leans over, placing a hand tenderly on her chin, gently turning her head towards his. "Hey, I'm here aren't I?"

"So you aren't going to..." Hanna sniffs.

Rob doesn't say anything. His choice of response is a loving and passionate kiss; Hanna closes her eyes, weeping a little with relief.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning; Rob and Hanna lie in bed, eyes closed yet awake, Hanna resting her head on Rob's chest.

"How are we this morning?" Rob asks softly.

"Contended," Hanna sighs pleasantly in response. "And a little hungry," she adds a moment later.

"What time is it?"

"Time for breakfast in bed?"

"Why thankyou."

Hanna slaps Rob's stomach playfully.

* * *

><p>After breakfast, Rob and Hanna retire to the comfort of the sofa, still in their nightclothes. Hanna hands the red crystal to Rob; he stares into its depths in a futile attempt to understand its secrets.<p>

"See? I told you it was nothing to be afraid of!"

"I guess. I still don't understand how this thing works."

"And I do?"

"Point taken." Rob hands the crystal back. "At least you can do something with it; to me it's just a pretty rock."

"I guess it's something that only certain people can use..." Hanna postulates.

"If so, is it the only one?"

Hanna looks at Rob quizzically. "You mean there could be another pyrokinetic crystal?"

"Another crystal yes, but not necessarily pyrokinetic."

Hanna thinks for a moment. "Maybe there are five, one for each of the elements..."

"Fire, Earth, Water, Metal, Wood?"

"Exactly."

"Hmm..."


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next four days, Rob spent an unusual amount of time in the libraries of Shang Tu, trying to find out more about the possible existence of crystals like Hanna's pyrokinetic example. However, his efforts have come to nought. At the end of the fourth day, he returns home, exhausted and frustrated.

Hanna emerges from the kitchen, fresh hot chocolate in hand, to find Rob slumped face down on the sofa. "Successful day?"

"Nnnnnnnnnn."

"Wanna drink?"

"Nnnnnnnnnn."

"I'll take that as a yes." Hanna returns to the kitchen; a few minutes later, she returns with a green tea; she places it on the table.

"I'm starting to think yours is the only one." Rob's tired voice is muffled by the sofa cushion.

"Do I detect some jealously?" Hanna asks, sitting in the chair.

Rob rolls over onto his back. "Nah, not really. It would have been nice to have a funky power stone though."

"Assuming you could make it work."

"Touché."

"You could always electrify your sai." Hanna suggests after a brief pause.

"Only if you carry the battery pack!" Rob retorts in jest.


	5. Chapter 5

The next afternoon, Shang Mu commercial district. Rob and Hanna are working out which stores to hit that night.

"Is there a store on this street we haven't hit recently?" Hanna asks quietly.

"A couple," Rob answers, "but nothing that'd give us much reward."

"Well, we've got enough to last a couple more months, not to mention two other cities we can case."

"True, though I fear Shuigang's off-limits currently," Rob cautions. "There's a lot of security hovering around; I'd prefer an easier score."

"I dunno; a big score in Shuigang sounds very tempting..."

"And the last time you succumbed to that temptation, you nearly broke your hip," Rob reminds. "Twice."

"That was only because the crystal was in my pocket," Hanna explains. "Besides, you'd tag along anyway." Rob doesn't respond; Hanna turns to Rob, but Rob is no longer beside her. "Rob? Where'd you go?"

Rob had stopped outside a jewellery store; he'd noticed an unusual gemstone in the window display, a diamond about the size of a deck of cards. His gaze fixed on the diamond, he slowly approaches the window.

"Nice of you to leave me talking to air like that," Hanna chastises as she draws alongside Rob. No response. "Rob? You OK?"

Still no response.

"Hanna to Rob. Rob, come in." Hanna taps Rob on the shoulder.

"Hm? Sorry, I just noticed..." Rob begins.

Hanna checks the window display; she notices the diamond. "It's a diamond, about the size of my crystal. Nothing special."

"Nothing special? You mean you don't see it?"

"See what?"

"I... I'm not actually sure..."

"Like I said, it's just a-" Hanna pauses as the realisation dawns on her. "It's not a normal diamond, is it?"

"No."

"It's another one of those crystals, like mine?"

"Yes."

"So we're hitting this place tonight."

"Yes."

"Well, we'd better get home and start planning." She makes to leave; Rob doesn't move. "Come on," she sighs, pulling his arm. "I'll drag you all the way if I have to."

Rob allows Hanna to pull him away from the window, only breaking his gaze when the crowd of shoppers blocks his view.


	6. Chapter 6

Late into the night, two figures flit between the shadows of the Shang Mu commercial district. The duo approach their target, scaling the walls and onto the roofs. The security systems installed offer little resistance to their determined efforts.

Hanna is the first into the store itself, wasting no time in finding the safe. While she sets about cracking it open, Rob drops into the store, and slinks towards the window display.

"It's not here," he whispers urgently.

"Shush," Hanna hisses in response, ear to the safe door.

"I really hope they haven't sold it."

"Shush."

"To come this close and be denied-"

"Shush."

Rob retreats from the window display, joining Hanna at the safe. "Sorry," he breathes.

Hanna pauses to remove one of her gloves and shove it in Rob's mouth, before resuming her safecracking. Rob extracts the glove; he doesn't say anything, instead simply dabbing the glove on his trousers and holding it ready for Hanna to reclaim it.

A few moments later, the safe clicks loudly. Hanna pulls away from the safe door, reclaiming her slightly damp glove in the process. "It's cracked." She opens the safe door, and starts rooting around in its contents.

"Is it in there?" Rob asks impatiently.

"Shush."

Rob tries to wait patiently, but fails; after a couple of minutes, he pushes Hanna aside, and starts frantically searching the safe, spilling some of the contents on the floor.

"Darn it!" he sighs quietly. "It's not in here! Where are the sales records; need to find out who bought it..."

Hanna clears her throat; Rob turns to see her holding out a diamond, about the size of a deck of cards, a sweet but sly grin on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

At home the following afternoon, Rob is putting the finishing touches onto his new double-baldric, the diamond secured where the straps cross at the front. He had modelled the design on Hanna's example, but where hers has waist holsters for nunchaku, his has sheaths on the back for a pair of sai.

"Nice work," Hanna compliments.

"Thanks," Rob smiles, donning his creation.

"Wouldn't the sheaths work better on the waist? That's where you had them before."

"Yeah, but drawing them was always a little awkward. This design should make it easier."

"Then why didn't you make one before?"

"Dunno, really. I guess it never occurred to me to do so until I got this diamond."

"You put it the same place I put my crystal, I see."

"Seems the most logical place for it."

"I guess..."

"Anyway," Rob says, standing up, "I think it's time to test this baby out!"

* * *

><p>A few moments later, outside.<p>

"How do these things work?" Rob asks.

"No idea; mine kinda 'activated' itself when I fell in front of those robots," Hanna explains.

Rob looks among the trees. "Well, it doesn't look like anything's about to attack any time soon."

"I dunno," Hanna remarks, seemingly distracted. "I think I hear something in the distance."

"I can't hear anything."

"My hearing's better than yours."

"Oh yeah."

Hanna, focussed on the sound, starts to walk towards a denser cluster of trees. Twenty strides from Rob, she suddenly turns and unleashes two shurikens directly at his torso. Rob reaches for his sai to block, but isn't quick enough.

The diamond starts glowing.

The shurikens bounce harmlessly off Rob's chest with a metallic chime.

"Interesting," Hanna remarks in fascination, "your eyes don't go black like mine do."

"When did you get those shurikens?" Rob demands; his voice has obtained a metallic quality.

"While you were making your double-baldric."

"And what if the diamond hadn't protected me?"

"I knew it would," she assures. "You look like you're made of mercury," she adds after a brief pause, "except for the eyes; they look like they're made of gold. No pupils or irises though; it's freaky."

Rob blinks; the quicksilver cloak vanishes, and his eyes return to normal. "I wish you'd have given me some darn warning!" he snaps, his voice also normal.

"But then you'd have been prepared, and the diamond wouldn't have activated."

Rob makes to respond, but stops himself. "Good point," he admits after a moment's thought.


	8. Chapter 8

That evening, in the kitchen over dinner, Hanna and Rob discuss their crystals.

"The thing that concerns me," Rob explains, "is that we don't seem to be able to activate these crystals without being in mortal danger."

"Agreed," Hanna responds. "I know I'm an adrenaline junkie, but I'd rather not have to throw myself off a cliff just to shoot fireballs."

"You wouldn't have to go that far," Rob suggests with a hint of venom, "just get someone to throw shurikens at you unexpectedly."

Hanna fixes Rob with a piercing glare. "Do you really think I'd throw _sharp_ shurikens at you?"

"They were blunt?"

"Of course they were."

"Oh," Rob realises. "I wish you'd told me earlier."

"But then I wouldn't have been able to enjoy your shocked reaction," Hanna teases with a sly grin.

Rob shakes his head with a resigned sigh.

Dinner over, Hanna and Rob retire to the den; Hanna pauses suddenly.

"Did you put that glass dagger on the table?" she asks Rob.

"What glass da-" Rob starts, halting when he sees what Hanna's pointing at. "Where on Avalice did that come from?" he continues in surprise.

"The front door is open too," Hanna growls, starting to get angry.

"How was someone able to break in without you hearing them?"

Hanna doesn't answer; she strides purposefully towards the door, accelerating into a sprint as she exits the house, ignoring the rain. Halfway between the house and the trees, she slides to a halt in a spray of mud, nunchaku drawn, poised ready to fight.

"Show yourself!" she yells to the evening air.

"Whoever broke in won't have hung around to fight you," Rob calls out. "The culprit's probably several miles away by now."

Hanna waits a moment longer, then slowly returns to the house, still growling quietly with unspent aggression.

"There's a card under the dagger," Rob informs, picking up the card to read.

Hanna doesn't answer; she just growls a little louder.

Rob analyses the card. "It doesn't say anything; it's just a symbol of five circles joined by lines."

Hanna stops growling. "Any idea what it stands for?"

"None whatsoever."


End file.
